FEATURE
Out of all the members , Bobby Brown has had the most successful solo career . Since leaving New Edition in 1985 , his 2ndsolo album ' Don ’ t be Cruel ' catapulted to the top of the RnB and pop charts making the new jack swing genre crossover onto the pop charts . New Edition reformed in 1996 to record the album ' Home ' with all six members and then again in 2004 signed to Bad Boy Records with the album ' One Love '. They have spent the last few years touring together and came together to work and produce their new biopic . Although the biopic covers their career from the formation of the band in the late seventies to more recent years , covering Bobby Brown ’ s fall out with the band , financial and legal issues as well as personal problems , fans still felt themselves asking more questions .
Here are a few things that came up in the film that you may not have known :
The mothers of the members helped manage the group .
The mothers of Bobby , Ralph , Ronnie , Ricky and Mike were instrumental in the management of the boys , working alongside numerous managers . The mum ’ s are the ones who voted and decided to fire Maurice Starr and Brooke Payne as manager ; the boys and their mum ’ s later brought Brooke Payne , who was Ronnie ’ s uncle , back as choreographer whilst at MCA .
Johnny Gill was brought into the group to replace Ralph Tresvant not Bobby Brown .
Johnny Gill , who was a friend of all members of the group , was brought in after Bobby left as his ultimate replacement , or so people thought . However , it was Mike Bivins who recruited him to actually replace Ralph , as it was rumoured Ralph was leaving to work on his solo career .
Boyz II Men were influenced by New Edition .
Boyz II Men named themselves after New Edition ' s song ' Boyz to Men ' off the ' Heartbreak ' album . They were massively influenced by the group and actually approached Mike Bivins who helped manage and produce their own group .
Ricky Bell was addicted to drugs .
' I shared my closely guarded story of pain and addiction for the sole purpose of gifting hope and inspiration to those who may be suffering as I once did . It is my helping hand to you '.
' The New Edition Story ' showed the tumultuous lives of the members of the group . The fights , feuds , struggles and the legacy of the band , but it also showed a story of hard work , forgiveness and friendship that continues to this day .
IMPORTANT NOTICE : The 3 part biopic airs in the U . K on the 2nd- 4th March
Melissa-Ellesse Assibey
Ricky Bell ’ s addiction to drugs was revealed to the public in the biopic with Ricky making the decision to open up about his time of addiction and recovery . In a post on his Instagram page he shares why he decided to open up about this issue .
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